Kleber Cavalcante Gomes, or Criolo, is a Brazilian singer, rapper, songwriter and actor. With a career starting in 1989, he was originally known in Brazil as the creator of Rinha dos MC's, but has gained worldwide attention for his solo work and, in particular, the albumNó Na Orelha. In 2019, he was nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards, for "Boca de Lobo" and "Etérea".
Early life and career
Born to migrants from the North East of Brazil in the commercial hub of São Paulo, Criolo was born in the 'Favela das Imbuias', one of the many shanty towns that girdle the city. Since the age of 11, Criolo concentrated on his love for rap, performing in small venues around his neighbourhood for many years before finally releasing his debut album ‘‘Ainda Há Tempo’’ in 2006. This led to a reputation as one of the most important rappers in São Paulo. His second album, “Nó na Orelha”, issued in Brazil in 2011 and internationally in 2012, saw his popularity grow beyond São Paulo and Brazil to other countries, leading to live shows in Adelaide, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cannes, Dijon, Ghent, Glasgow, Leuven, Lisbon, Los Angeles, London, Manchester, New York, Ozark, Paris, Rome, Roskilde, Saint-Florent, Saint-Nazaire, Sao Isidro, Sete, and Vence. His fourth album Espiral de Ilusão, focused on samba, was elected the 6th best Brazilian album of 2017 by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone. The album was accompanied by the first issue of Criolo magazine and Criolo was awarded best samba singer of the year by Brazilian Music Awards because of it. All his projects since 2010 are released by his record label, Oloko Records, by his manager Beatriz Berjeaut, and his music director, Daniel Ganjaman. In 2018, Criolo releases Boca de Lobo as single and music video. The following year, 2019, he launches the Etérea project, an electronic beat song made as a homage to the Brazilian underground queer culture. Etérea music video was released with a behind the scenes mini documentary with interviews with the performers and the whole project had creative direction by Tino Monetti and Pedro Inoue. Both singles, with executive production by Kler Correa, were nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards 2019, as Best Music Video, Short Version and Best Song In Portuguese, respectively.
